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Presidential Inauguration 2009

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January 18, 2009

By Fredie Carmichael / editor The Meridian Star Sun Jan 18, 2009, 11:48 PM CST

While Richard Kelly is witnessing America’s first African-American president taking office Tuesday, the Meridian man’s thoughts will go back to 1964.

Kelly was 10 years old, and those leading a fledgling push for civil rights were registering black voters. Kelly was there, in Meridian’s First Union Baptist Church on 38th Avenue, when civil rights workers sought refuge in the house of worship. His most vivid memory: James Chaney and Michael Schwerner hiding out in the church's attic.

"They weren't sleeping, they were on watch," Kelly said.

Despite their struggles, Kelly said, Chaney and Schwerner remained eerily confident. As the men worked to register blacks to vote, Kelly said, they were hopeful for a different America - and a time they wouldn't have to fight injustices.

But could they have imagined a black man as president?

"I think so ... they always talked about how things were going to be better," said, Kelly, as he turned to listen to a flight announcement at the Jackson-Evers International Airport, while en route to Baltimore Sunday.

"They just had this hope," he said, "It's what drove them."

Eventually, Ku Klux Klansmen chased down Chaney, Schwerner and civil rights worker Andrew Goodman, killed the young men and buried their bodies in an earthen dam in Mississippi. But not before they rallied black residents to register to vote and to stand up for reform.

On Tuesday, Kelly and his wife, Ceatrice, will be in Washington, D.C., as President-elect Barack Obama is sworn in as the nation's 44th president. Kelly said it was fitting that Obama will be sworn in on the same Bible Abraham Lincoln used in his first inauguration.

Lincoln was the president who started the process that made it possible for a black American to be president. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War, then championed the Constitution's 13th Amendment, which banned slavery throughout the United States.

Lincoln also is a president Obama has looked to for guidance, drawing on his words and political strategies.

In Washington late Sunday, thousands of people from across the world were converging on the city for Obama’s inauguration.

By late afternoon, the normally 20-minute cab ride from Ronald Reagan National Airport to parts of downtown Washington took two hours. The city was overflowing.

Ronnie Thames, 23, of Topeka, Kan., home state of Obama’s late mother, trudged through the airport, looking for the Metro station.

"I want to get there," said Thames, his eyes puffy and his feet already aching from walking. "I've been traveling all day and I just want to see everything already. It's amazing. It's something I'll tell my grandkids about one day."

Ceatrice Kelly had a single focus as she and her husband planned to drive from Baltimore into Washington for two days of inaugural activities.

"I just want to be there to be a part of history," she said. "I just want to say, 'I was there when Barack Obama was inaugurated.'"

Today’s schedule of events in Washington

— National Day of Community Service event: To honor Dr. King’s legacy, Obama, Biden and their families, joined by Americans across the country, will participate in activities dedicated to serving others in communities across the Washington, D.C. area.

— Black Tie & Boots Inaugural Ball, sponsored by the Texas State Society, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center.

— Green Inaugural Ball at the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture. Ball hosted by former Vice President Al Gore.

— Huffington Post preinaugural ball at the Newseum.

— Hip-Hop Inaugural Ball at the Harman Center for the Arts. Hosted by the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Russell Simmons, LL Cool J, among others.

— A children’s evening concert at the Verizon Center honoring military families. Event hosted by Michelle Obama, who will attend. Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers are among the entertainers.

— Obama to attend three private dinners to honor former secretary of State Colin Powell, Biden and Sen. John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, for their public service. Dinners at the Hilton Washington, National Building Museum and Union Station.

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Presidential Inauguration 2009

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Inauguration Blog 8 p.m. 8 p.m.:

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Ready to Lead WASHINGTON, D.C. — As Barack Obama swore the presidential oath of office Tuesday, sunlight broke through soft stray clouds over the south side of the U.S. Capitol and shone directly on the nation’s 44th president and the estimated 2 million chilled spectators determined to witness his historic ceremony.

The roar from a sea of people that stretched as far back as the Lincoln Memorial, despite temperatures in the teens, echoed in waves back to the steps of the Capitol each time Obama's image appeared on massive television screens throughout the National Mall.
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Scenes from Washington WASHINGTON, D.C. — It was easy to get lost in the sea of people that overflowed the U.S. Capital on Monday — the grounds swelled with tens of thousands of people of all races, of all ages, of every socioeconomic status, and from every corner of the world.

Despite the many differences easily visible through the crowds, their commonalities seemed far more obvious.

It was the day Ronald Reagan first set aside as Martin Luther King Day, a federal holiday honoring the slain civil rights leader — and the day before the nation gains its first black president. Barack Obama will be sworn in on the Capitol’s front steps this morning to become America’s 44th president.
January 20, 2009 4 Photos
Couple readies for inauguration While Richard Kelly is witnessing America’s first African-American president taking office Tuesday, the Meridian man’s thoughts will go back to 1964.

Kelly was 10 years old, and those leading a fledgling push for civil rights were registering black voters. Kelly was there, in Meridian’s First Union Baptist Church on 38th Avenue, when civil rights workers sought refuge in the house of worship. His most vivid memory: James Chaney and Michael Schwerner hiding out in the church's attic.

"They weren't sleeping, they were on watch," Kelly said.
January 18, 2009 3 Photos
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January 18, 2009
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January 18, 2009 1 Photo
Historic moment reminder of civil rights work Small towns are often known by the celebrities, athletes and the war heroes they produce -- their names emblazoned on streets, buildings and parks; tales of their success fodder for coffee shop conversations.
January 18, 2009
Local attendees excited about inauguration The event of the decade is happening this week — and a few lucky East Mississippi residents will get to go.

Some, like Meridian's Frances Roscoe, will take a daylong trip on a bus to watch the swearing-in, then get back on the bus and drive all the way back.
January 17, 2009 1 Photo

Presidential Inauguration 2009

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